Trend Absence of connectivity becomes a premium product
Summary
This trend describes being disconnected, or free from digital devices, turning into something people pay for and regulate. Sitra expects people's desire to travel and see new places to keep growing, while the forms and norms of travel change. Its imagined 2046 magazine includes a rail travel column suggesting that, in a world saturated with technology, digital peace and nostalgia may become key selling points in tourism. The column also features foods of the future on the dining menu. Supporting signals include digital detox retreats, lockable phone pouches, an Amsterdam offline club and restaurants returning to paper reservation books. Others are a French village voting to ban phones in public, the sold-out relaunch of a classic Nokia phone and flights taken without any entertainment.
Classification
Evidence 1
- Weak Signals 2025: A Magazine from the year 2046 - the signals behind IF* magazine Sitra (the Finnish Innovation Fund) page=7;section=Weak signals related to digital peace and travel 2025-06-18 accessed 2026-07-25
Futures articles 2
Observed signals 10
- SignalA reissued feature phone sells out in China in two days
- SignalA social media challenge to fly long-haul with no stimulation at all
- SignalA village votes to outlaw phone use in public space
- SignalAn Amsterdam community built on device-free meetings
- SignalConnectivity-free stays sold as a travel product
- SignalLeading restaurants revert to paper books and landlines
- SignalLockable phone pouches sold to schools, courts and households
- SignalNew York City designates social media a public health hazard
- SignalRail tourism market projected to grow by two thirds over a decade
- SignalSeoul embeds pedestrian signals in the pavement
Part of issues 0
No objects.
Relation types: supports
Public id: fm-61c45de87487